{ "id": "n-698a56088f", "slug": "university-city-costa-verde-center", "type": "strip", "name": "Costa Verde Center", "aka": [], "city": "University City", "county": "St. Louis County", "state": "MO", "country": "US", "census_division": 4, "lat": 38.65691, "lon": -90.31034, "geocode_method": "nominatim-city", "address": null, "metro": null, "original_use": "strip mall", "year_opened": null, "year_closed": null, "acres": null, "gla_sqft": null, "stores_peak": null, "levels": null, "original_developer": "Guaranty Service Corporation", "original_architect": null, "before_notes": "Draft from buildsd.org, model-extracted, unreviewed: Costa Verde Center, a car-oriented strip mall built in the 1980s, is proposed to be redeveloped into a mixed-use, walkable residential community with housing, retail, and a boutique hotel, following its approval by the San Diego City Council in October 2025.", "strategy": [ "redevelop" ], "new_use": [ "hotel", "housing", "retail" ], "share_retrofit": null, "status": "proposed", "year_retrofit": null, "developer": "Cass Street Venture LLC", "architect": "JWDA Architects", "after_notes": null, "narrative": null, "narrative_license": null, "narrative_source": null, "zoning_change": "The site was upzoned to 218 residential units per acre in the 2024 University Community Plan Update.", "public_subsidy": null, "entitlement_year": 2025, "planning_notes": "Approved by San Diego City Council.", "wikidata_qid": null, "wikipedia": null, "osm_id": null, "verified": "draft", "verified_by": null, "last_verified": null, "last_updated": "2026-10-18", "created": "2026-10-18", "contributor_name": null, "contributor_org": null, "contributor_link": null, "international": 0, "county_fips": "29189", "opp_score": 0.0, "opp_reasons": [ "already in play: under construction, approved, or sold to a developer with housing plans", "housing in the record" ], "for_sale": 0, "distressed": 0, "deep": {}, "elements": [ { "slug": "status-pipeline", "name": "Retrofit in the pipeline", "grp": "finance", "evidence": "proposed", "origin": "newtypes-extraction" }, { "slug": "finance-sold-2020s", "name": "Sold since 2020", "grp": "finance", "evidence": "2021 Alexandria Real Estate Equities", "origin": "research-deals" }, { "slug": "owner-public", "name": "Public body", "grp": "owner", "evidence": "UNIVERSITY CITY CITY OF", "origin": "county-parcels" }, { "slug": "place-mall-cluster", "name": "3+ other atlas sites within 10 km", "grp": "place", "evidence": "5 within 10 km", "origin": "computed" }, { "slug": "place-retail-shrinking-county", "name": "County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012", "grp": "place", "evidence": "-16%", "origin": "census-cbp" }, { "slug": "place-shrinking-county", "name": "Shrinking county", "grp": "place", "evidence": "-0.2%", "origin": "census-acs" }, { "slug": "policy-rezoning", "name": "Rezoning", "grp": "policy", "evidence": "The site was upzoned to 218 residential units per acre in the 2024 University Community Plan Update.", "origin": "newtypes-extraction" }, { "slug": "strategy-redevelop", "name": "Redeveloped", "grp": "strategy", "evidence": "", "origin": "record" }, { "slug": "use-hotel", "name": "Hotel", "grp": "use", "evidence": "new_use field", "origin": "record" }, { "slug": "use-housing", "name": "Housing", "grp": "use", "evidence": "new_use field", "origin": "record" }, { "slug": "use-retail", "name": "Retail (continued)", "grp": "use", "evidence": "new_use field", "origin": "record" } ], "sources": [ { "id": 8656, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "url": "https://buildsd.org/journal/costa-verde-center-past-present-future", "title": "Costa Verde Center: Past, Present, Future - BuildSD", "publisher": "buildsd.org", "date": null, "quote": "Costa Verde Center", "kind": "news", "license": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-18" }, { "id": 8657, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "url": "https://buildsd.org/journal/costa-verde-center-past-present-future", "title": "Timeline", "publisher": null, "date": null, "quote": "A master plan for the superblock was prepared by local San Diego architecture firm SGPA Architecture & Planning for Dallas-based Guaranty Service Corporation, named \u201cThe Costa Verde Specific Plan,\u201d and was filed with the City of San Diego in 1986.", "kind": "quote", "license": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-18" }, { "id": 8658, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "url": "https://buildsd.org/journal/costa-verde-center-past-present-future", "title": "Timeline", "publisher": null, "date": null, "quote": "In 2020, after five years of planning work and many renderings that never gained footing, Jacksonville-based owners of the strip mall Regency Centers applied for an amendment of this type, accompanied by renderings like below.", "kind": "quote", "license": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-18" }, { "id": 8659, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "url": "https://buildsd.org/journal/costa-verde-center-past-present-future", "title": "Timeline", "publisher": null, "date": null, "quote": "Just over a year after applying for the amendment, Regency Centers had divested themselves from the project, selling the site completely to Alexandria for $125 million.", "kind": "quote", "license": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-18" }, { "id": 8660, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "url": "https://buildsd.org/journal/costa-verde-center-past-present-future", "title": "Timeline", "publisher": null, "date": null, "quote": "Due to all this, Alexandria sold the site to GM Residential Partners LLC for $124 million in January 2025, with a stipulation that the site could not be used in any way for life science.", "kind": "quote", "license": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-18" }, { "id": 8661, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "url": "https://buildsd.org/journal/costa-verde-center-past-present-future", "title": "Timeline", "publisher": null, "date": null, "quote": "This master plan, described in the remainder of this article, was approved by the San Diego City Council on October 23, 2025 to flat-out remove the strip mall property entirely from the Costa Verde Specific Plan.", "kind": "quote", "license": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-18" }, { "id": 8662, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "url": "https://buildsd.org/journal/costa-verde-center-past-present-future", "title": "Timeline", "publisher": null, "date": null, "quote": "And indeed, with approval from the city now acquired, demolition of the still standing but abandoned strip mall is planned to finally begin in early 2026.", "kind": "quote", "license": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-18" } ], "parties": [ { "name": "Cass Street Venture LLC", "kind": "developer", "role": "developer", "year_from": null, "year_to": null } ], "events": [ { "id": 5359, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "date": null, "year": 1986, "kind": "note", "detail": "A master plan for the superblock was prepared by local San Diego architecture firm SGPA Architecture & Planning for Dallas-based Guaranty Service Corporation, named \u201cThe Costa Verde Specific Plan,\u201d an", "share": null, "source_id": 8657, "verified": "draft" }, { "id": 5360, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "date": null, "year": 2020, "kind": "note", "detail": "Jacksonville-based owners of the strip mall Regency Centers applied for an amendment of this type, accompaniedied by renderings like below.", "share": null, "source_id": 8658, "verified": "draft" }, { "id": 5361, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "date": null, "year": 2021, "kind": "note", "detail": "Regency Centers sold the site completely to Alexandria for $125 million.", "share": null, "source_id": 8659, "verified": "draft" }, { "id": 5362, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "date": null, "year": 2025, "kind": "note", "detail": "Alexandria sold the site to GM Residential Partners LLC for $124 million in January 2025.", "share": null, "source_id": 8660, "verified": "draft" }, { "id": 5363, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "date": null, "year": 2025, "kind": "note", "detail": "The master plan was approved by the San Diego City Council on October 23, 2025 to flat-out remove the strip mall property entirely from the Costa Verde Specific Plan.", "share": null, "source_id": 8661, "verified": "draft" }, { "id": 5364, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "date": null, "year": 2026, "kind": "note", "detail": "Demolition of the still standing but abandoned strip mall is planned to finally begin in early 2026.", "share": null, "source_id": 8662, "verified": "draft" } ], "gallery": [], "anchors": [], "deals": [ { "id": 524, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "kind": "sale", "date": null, "year": 2025, "price": 124000000.0, "price_per_acre": null, "price_per_sqft": null, "acres": null, "sqft": null, "buyer": "GM Residential Partners LLC", "seller": "Alexandria Real Estate Equities", "broker": null, "lender": null, "loan_amount": null, "loan_maturity": null, "loan_status": null, "asking_price": null, "listing_url": null, "status": null, "notes": null, "source_url": "https://buildsd.org/journal/costa-verde-center-past-present-future", "source_title": null, "source_date": null, "quote": "Due to all this, Alexandria sold the site to GM Residential Partners LLC for $124 million in January 2025, with a stipulation that the site could not be used in any way for life science.", "verified": "draft", "retrieved": "2026-10-18" }, { "id": 523, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "kind": "sale", "date": null, "year": 2021, "price": 125000000.0, "price_per_acre": null, "price_per_sqft": null, "acres": null, "sqft": null, "buyer": "Alexandria Real Estate Equities", "seller": "Regency Centers", "broker": null, "lender": null, "loan_amount": null, "loan_maturity": null, "loan_status": null, "asking_price": null, "listing_url": null, "status": null, "notes": null, "source_url": "https://buildsd.org/journal/costa-verde-center-past-present-future", "source_title": null, "source_date": null, "quote": "Just over a year after applying for the amendment, Regency Centers had divested themselves from the project, selling the site completely to Alexandria for $125 million.", "verified": "draft", "retrieved": "2026-10-18" } ], "owner_of_record": "University City City Of", "ctx": { "assessment": { "what_happened": "Costa Verde Center is a strip mall in University City, MO, currently proposed for redevelopment. The site was sold by Alexandria Real Estate Equities to GM Residential Partners LLC for $124 million in January 2025. The 2024 University Community Plan Update upzoned the site to allow 218 residential units per acre. The master plan for redevelopment (removing the existing strip mall) was approved by the San Diego City Council in October 2025 (note: location mismatch in record; site is in MO, not San Diego). Demolition of the existing structure is planned for early 2026. The new use includes hotel, housing, and retail. The site was previously owned by Regency Centers, sold to Alexandria in 2021 for $125 million. The opportunity score is 0.0 due to housing being already planned and the site being in active development. The record shows no additional context beyond the provided data.", "why": "The assessment strictly uses the record: status is proposed with 2025 entitlement approval, recent sales, zoning change, and new use. The San Diego City Council reference is included as stated but noted as inconsistent with the MO location. Housing is explicitly listed in the new use and flagged as a reason for low opportunity score. No external data is added.", "where_it_stands": "The site is in active development phase: approved for redevelopment, sold to a developer with housing plans, and demolition scheduled for 2026.", "for_a_planner": [ "Zoning change approved for high-density housing (218 units/acre)", "Master plan approved to remove existing strip mall", "Demolition planned 2026" ], "for_a_developer": [ "Recent $124M sale to GM Residential", "Housing component already planned", "No additional entitlements needed beyond 2025 approval" ], "risks_and_unknowns": [ "Location mismatch: San Diego City Council approval cited for MO site", "No details on hotel/retail component", "No timeline for new construction beyond demolition" ], "data_quality": "partial", "one_line": "Proposed redevelopment of strip mall to housing/hotel/retail, approved for upzoning, sold for $124M in 2025, demolition planned 2026.", "model": "qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest", "machine": "Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b)", "record_sha1": "53222ce59117" }, "cluster": { "within_10km": [ { "id": "m-bb45504c10", "name": "Westroads Shopping Center", "city": "Richmond Heights", "status": "unknown", "km": 4.0 }, { "id": "n-da8f7421a9", "name": "Bellerive Country Club", "city": "Bellerive Acres", "status": "built", "km": 6.1 }, { "id": "n-e0d827dadf", "name": "Peter Mathews Memorial Skate Garden", "city": "St. Louis", "status": "built", "km": 8.6 }, { "id": "m-6477610211", "name": "River Roads Mall", "city": "Jennings", "status": "unknown", "km": 9.7 }, { "id": "n-215d12339c", "name": "Ely Walker Lofts", "city": "St. Louis", "status": "built", "km": 9.8 } ], "count_10km": 5, "count_25km": 14 }, "elevation": { "elevation_ft": 541.5, "resolution": 1, "source": "USGS EPQS (3DEP)", "retrieved": "2026-10-20" }, "food_access": { "tract10": "29189216100", "urban": 1, "lila_1_10": 0, "low_access_1mi": 0, "poverty_rate": 38.8633144475921, "median_family_income": 144706.0, "snap_households": 122.0, "pop2010": 5479.0, "source": "USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas 2019 (ArcGIS copy)", "retrieved": "2026-10-20" }, "housing_market": { "zhvi": { "latest": 285675, "month": "2026-09", "change_1y": 0.028, "change_5y": 0.244 }, "zori": { "latest": 1490, "month": "2026-09", "change_1y": 0.042, "change_5y": 0.298 }, "county_fips": "29189", "source": "Zillow Research (ZHVI, ZORI)" }, "jobs_lodes": { "tract20": "29189216101", "jobs": 1740, "retail_jobs": 95, "food_accommodation_jobs": 407, "year": 2022, "source": "Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022 (all jobs, primary and secondary), blocks summed to the 2020 tract", "retrieved": "2026-10-20" }, "listings": { "zip": "63130", "month": "202609", "median_listing_price": 300225, "median_listing_price_yy": 0.2073, "active_listing_count": 63, "median_days_on_market": 48, "price_reduced_share": 0.2536, "pending_ratio": 0.627, "source": "Realtor.com Research, inventory core metrics by ZIP (ZCTA at the site point)", "retrieved": "2026-10-20" }, "opportunity": { "tract10": "29189216100", "kfr_p25": 0.3394, "jail_p25": 0.0544, "kids_count": 523.131, "commuting_zone": "St. Louis", "vintage": "children born 1978-83, outcomes measured 2014-15", "source": "Opportunity Insights, Opportunity Atlas (Chetty, Friedman, Hendren, Jones, Porter 2018)", "retrieved": "2026-10-20" }, "peers": { "peers": [ { "id": "m-b2de6f314e", "name": "Northwest Plaza Mall", "city": "St Anns", "state": "MO", "score": 5.5, "why": [ "same strategy: redevelop", "also in MO", "11 km away" ] }, { "id": "m-8c7b6813ec", "name": "Chesterfield Mall", "city": "Chesterfield", "state": "MO", "score": 5.0, "why": [ "same strategy: redevelop", "also in MO", "22 km away" ] }, { "id": "m-2b3899ff9d", "name": "Crestwood Court", "city": "Crestwood", "state": "MO", "score": 5.0, "why": [ "same strategy: redevelop", "also in MO", "12 km away" ] }, { "id": "m-d1229dd29d", "name": "Jamestown Mall", "city": "Florissant", "state": "MO", "score": 5.0, "why": [ "same strategy: redevelop", "also in MO", "19 km away" ] }, { "id": "m-3b7529da73", "name": "One City Center", "city": "St. Louis", "state": "MO", "score": 5.0, "why": [ "same strategy: redevelop", "also in MO", "11 km away" ] }, { "id": "m-423879addd", "name": "St. Louis Mills", "city": "Hazelwood", "state": "MO", "score": 5.0, "why": [ "same strategy: redevelop", "also in MO", "17 km away" ] } ], "method": "size, era, strategy, status, type, state, distance" }, "permits": { "county": "St. Louis County", "2024": { "units_1": 687, "units_2_4": 2, "units_5plus": 504, "value_total": 547004217 }, "2023": { "units_1": 855, "units_2_4": 2, "units_5plus": 296, "value_total": 487212422 }, "retrieved": "2026-10-18" }, "qcew_retail": { "county": "29189", "year": 2025, "establishments": 3256, "employment": 56251, "avg_annual_pay": 44777, "lq_employment": 0.97, "employment_change_1y": -2.0, "source": "BLS QCEW 2025 annual, county, NAICS 44-45 retail trade, private", "retrieved": "2026-10-20" }, "retail_trend": { "2012": { "estab": 3827, "emp": 66895 }, "2023": { "estab": 3211, "emp": 58164 }, "estab_change": -0.161, "emp_change": -0.131, "county_fips": "29189" }, "schools": { "district": "University City School District", "district_geoid": "2930660", "grades": "PK-12", "district_vintage": "SY2024-25", "public_schools_1mi": 4, "schools": [ "REACH ST. LOUIS DAY TREATMENT", "JULIA GOLDSTEIN EARLY CHILD.", "FLYNN PARK ELEM.", "PERSHING ELEM." ], "schools_vintage": "SY2023-24", "source": "NCES EDGE", "retrieved": "2026-10-20" }, "storms": { "county": "29189", "years": "2016-2025", "events": 342, "by_type": { "Hail": 163, "Thunderstorm Wind": 125, "Flash Flood": 25, "Tornado": 17, "Flood": 6, "Lightning": 3, "Heavy Rain": 3 }, "property_damage_usd": 61208500, "deaths_direct": 5, "injuries_direct": 1, "note": "county-typed events only; events logged to forecast zones (CZ_TYPE Z: most winter, heat, flood and coastal events) are not counted", "source": "NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, details files", "retrieved": "2026-10-20" } }, "parcels": [ { "id": 646, "site_id": "n-698a56088f", "pin": "18J621276", "owner": "UNIVERSITY CITY CITY OF", "owner_addr": null, "acres": 3.79, "land_use": null, "zoning": "Municipal", "assessed": null, "appraised": null, "taxable": null, "tax_amount": null, "sale_date": null, "sale_price": null, "deed_ref": null, "county_fips": "29189", "source_url": "https://services2.arcgis.com/w657bnjzrjguNyOy/ArcGIS/rest/services/STLCOparcels/FeatureServer/0", "retrieved": "2026-10-21" } ], "url": "https://retrofitatlas.org/strips/mo/university-city-costa-verde-center/", "photo": null, "provenance": { "original_developer": "newtypes-extraction", "status": "newtypes-extraction", "developer": "newtypes-extraction", "zoning_change": "newtypes-extraction", "state": "census-geocoder" }, "links_out": [ { "group": "official", "label": "County GIS parcel record \u00b7 18J621276", "url": "https://services2.arcgis.com/w657bnjzrjguNyOy/ArcGIS/rest/services/STLCOparcels/FeatureServer/0/query?where=PARENT_LOC=%2718J621276%27&outFields=*&f=html", "why": "the county GIS layer's own record for this parcel (ArcGIS REST, HTML view); the raw row behind the parcels table", "from": "parcel.source_url + PARENT_LOC", "rel": "noopener" }, { "group": "official", "label": "St. Louis County (29189) profile (data.census.gov)", "url": "https://data.census.gov/profile?g=050XX00US29189", "why": "the county's Census profile", "from": "site.county_fips 29189", "rel": "noopener" }, { "group": "official", "label": "FEMA flood map (NFHL) at this point", "url": "https://msc.fema.gov/portal/search?AddressQuery=38.65691%2C-90.31034", "why": "FEMA Map Service Center search by coordinates: the effective flood zone and panel", "from": "site.lat/lon", "rel": "noopener" }, { "group": "official", "label": "EPA ECHO facilities within 1 mile", "url": "https://echo.epa.gov/facilities/facility-search/results?p_lat=38.65691&p_long=-90.31034&p_radius=1", "why": "EPA Enforcement and Compliance History: regulated facilities near the point", "from": "site.lat/lon", "rel": "noopener" }, { "group": "reference", "label": "Wikimedia Commons photos within 500 m", "url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Search&search=nearcoord%3A500m%2C38.65691%2C-90.31034&ns6=1", "why": "a Commons geo-search around the point; licences vary by file", "from": "site.lat/lon", "rel": "noopener" }, { "group": "reference", "label": "Retrofitting Suburbia (book site)", "url": "https://www.retrofittingsuburbia.com/", "why": "Ellen Dunham-Jones and June Williamson's book and case studies, the research this database is built on", "from": "constant", "rel": "noopener" }, { "group": "place", "label": "Google Maps", "url": "https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=38.65691%2C-90.31034", "why": "the point on Google Maps", "from": "site.lat/lon", "rel": "noopener" }, { "group": "place", "label": "Street View", "url": "https://www.google.com/maps/@?api=1&map_action=pano&viewpoint=38.65691%2C-90.31034", "why": "the nearest Street View panorama", "from": "site.lat/lon", "rel": "noopener" }, { "group": "place", "label": "Bing Maps", "url": "https://www.bing.com/maps?cp=38.65691~-90.31034&lvl=17", "why": "the point on Bing Maps (Bird's eye where available)", "from": "site.lat/lon", "rel": "noopener" }, { "group": "place", "label": "Apple Maps", "url": "https://maps.apple.com/?ll=38.65691,-90.31034&z=17&q=Costa%20Verde%20Center", "why": "the point on Apple Maps", "from": "site.lat/lon", "rel": "noopener" }, { "group": "place", "label": "OpenStreetMap", "url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=38.65691&mlon=-90.31034#map=17/38.65691/-90.31034", "why": "the point on OpenStreetMap", "from": "site.lat/lon", "rel": "noopener" }, { "group": "place", "label": "Walk Score at this point", "url": "https://www.walkscore.com/score/loc/lat=38.65691/lng=-90.31034", "why": "Walk Score's walkability, transit and bike scores for the coordinates", "from": "site.lat/lon", "rel": "noopener nofollow" }, { "group": "place", "label": "Transitland map", "url": "https://www.transit.land/map#17/38.65691/-90.31034", "why": "transit routes and stops from open GTFS feeds around the point", "from": "site.lat/lon", "rel": "noopener" }, { "group": "place", "label": "USGS National Map", "url": "https://apps.nationalmap.gov/viewer/?center=-90.31034,38.65691&zoom=16", "why": "topographic and elevation layers from the USGS", "from": "site.lat/lon", "rel": "noopener" }, { "group": "market", "label": "LoopNet: for sale in University City, MO", "url": "https://www.loopnet.com/search/commercial-real-estate/university-city-mo/for-sale/", "why": "LoopNet's city search (checked in a browser 21 Oct 2026); the site itself may or may not be listed", "from": "site.city + state \u2192 search", "rel": "noopener nofollow sponsored" }, { "group": "news", "label": "Google News: \u201cCosta Verde Center\u201d", "url": "https://news.google.com/search?q=%22Costa+Verde+Center%22+University+City", "why": "news search for the site name and city", "from": "site.name + city \u2192 search", "rel": "noopener nofollow" }, { "group": "news", "label": "Bing News: \u201cCosta Verde Center\u201d", "url": "https://www.bing.com/news/search?q=%22Costa+Verde+Center%22+University+City", "why": "news search for the site name and city", "from": "site.name + city \u2192 search", "rel": "noopener nofollow" }, { "group": "reference", "label": "University City, Missouri on Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_City,_Missouri", "why": "the city or town's article: government, history, demographics", "from": "city_wikipedia.json (Wikipedia API)", "rel": "noopener" } ] }